A lawyer hired to represent Greene County commissioners called Galloway's latest push, which came in a letter sent to county officials on Wednesday, "a new low" and "reckless."

The lawyer said it's a "problem" that the auditor is making an assumption about the status of an investigation by the Missouri Ethics Commission into Greene County. He appeared to suggest, but refused to confirm, that the ethics commission has already reached a decision in its investigation into Greene County over similar concerns.

Galloway's letter was prompted by a recent development on the ethics commission. The bipartisan watchdog agency is unable to meet or issue decisions on pending investigations and complaints while there are vacancies on the board.

"The clock has run out, and the Missouri Ethics Commission is unable to act, leaving Greene County taxpayers without answers. An audit by my office is the only sure path forward," Galloway said in a statement issued through a news release, which also included a copy of the letter sent to the Greene County Commission.

Last week, terms expired for three out of six members of the bipartisan Missouri Ethics Commission. Gov. Eric Greitens has not selected any nominees yet. Appointees must be approved by the Senate before they can serve.

Greitens' spokesman, Parker Briden, previously told the News-Leader the office will make appointments to three vacant seats on the ethics commission before its next scheduled meeting on April 25.

"There shouldn't be any disruptions in their ability to work," Briden said. The office is waiting on nominations from political party committees, he said.

Galloway's concerns were not allayed by Briden's comments.

In her letter to commissioners, she writes: "Today, the citizens of Greene County are left with no guarantee that this course of events will proceed quickly and no timeline as to when any further Ethics Commission action related to this instance could commence."

Galloway had criticized the decision by Cirtin and Bengsch to hire Graves Garrett. In her recent letter, Galloway says the law firm "worked to serve the commission rather than the citizens of Greene County."

On Wednesday, Greim blasted Galloway.

"The auditor is making claims and releasing them to the media in an effort to pressure the commissioners. This strays very far from the code of conduct she is supposed to follow as a supposed-neutral auditor," Greim said. "People should not be misled by the auditor's letter."

Greim said Galloway is making an assumption that the ethics commission still has to take a vote on the Greene County investigation.

"Just hearing silence from the ethics commission should not lead one to believe that nothing has been determined. The auditor should understand that and make reports based on the facts, and that's not what her letter does," he said.

"This reaction once again shows this private law firm, hired at taxpayer expense, is representing the interests of the county commission, not the interests of taxpayers," Deidrick said.

The News-Leader has submitted a Sunshine Law request to Greene County for Graves Garrett invoices.

Greim said the county commission is "very confident" the ethics commission will issue a decision "in the near future."

When pressed for more details, Greim said he anticipates the decision to be released "within the next few weeks. Out of respect for the MEC and their process, I don't want to say any more."

A reporter asked Greim if he was operating off his own assumptions — either that new appointees to the ethics commission could be nominated and confirmed in the near future, or that a decision had already been made before the ethics commission lost the members it needs in order to meet.

"We are not making any assumptions about new appointees and when they come in," Greim said. "We are a party to the proceeding before the ethics commission. We are privy to what the ethics commission has done. The auditor is not."

When asked if that means that the ethics commission had already reached a decision on the Greene County investigation, Greim responded: "I'm not going to confirm that. I am not going to do it."

In January, the county announced it would continue to cooperate with an ethics commission investigation and rebuffed Galloway's repeated requests to allow her office to conduct an audit into whistleblower allegations. State law requires Galloway to obtain permission from the Greene County Commission before investigating. Another possible path for Galloway to audit Greene County hinges on the success of an ongoing citizen petition.

In Wednesday's letter, Galloway argued her responsibilities differ from the ethics commission's role, which is to look into violations of campaign finance laws — "not abuse and misuse of taxpayer dollars."

"My office is the only viable option to determine whether and to what extent public resources were used to support the ballot measure. As we explained at the time of our request, it is the job of this office to determine whether government corruption, waste, fraud and mismanagement has occurred, and to account to what extent the improper government activities occurred," she writes.

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Missouri Auditor Nicole Galloway wants an investigation of Greene County after a whistleblower alleged that public resources were misused to advocate for a sales tax ballot measure.
Wochit

Greim disagreed, saying the state law that Greene County allegedly violated falls under the jurisdiction of the ethics commission.

Greim was also critical of Galloway's offer to conduct an audit at no cost to the county government — an offer that was restated in her Wednesday letter.

Galloway and Greim diverge on whether her office is allowed to conduct audits without charging a fee to the jurisdiction being investigated.

Commissioner Lincoln Hough is the only member of the commission who has vocally supported an audit by Galloway's office.

Reached by the News-Leader, Hough said his position has not changed.

"For the county citizens who have entrusted their tax dollars to us, it just makes sense to be open and transparent," Hough said.

Since the first whistleblower complaint, more than 20 others have contacted the auditor's office with concerns about Greene County.